The main temple is dedicated to Kali, the Divine Mother, here worshipped
as Bhavatarini, the Saviour of the Universe. The floor of this temple also
is paved with marble. The basalt image of the Mother, dressed in gorgeous
gold brocade, stands on a white marble image of the prostrate body of Her
Divine Consort, Siva, the symbol of the Absolute. On the feet of the Goddess
are, among other ornaments, anklets of gold. Her arms are decked with
jewelled ornaments of gold. She wears necklaces of gold and pearls, a golden
garland of human heads, and a girdle of human arms. She wears a golden
crown, golden ear-rings, and a golden nose-ring with a pearl-drop. She has
four arms. The lower left hand holds a severed human head and the upper
grips a blood-stained sabre. One right hand offers boons to Her children;
the other allays their fear. The majesty of Her posture can hardly be
described. It combines the terror of destruction with the reassurance of
motherly tenderness. For She is the Cosmic Power, the totality of the
universe, a glorious harmony of the pairs of opposites. She deals out death, as
She creates and preserves. She has three eyes, the third being the symbol of
Divine Wisdom; they strike dismay into the wicked, yet pour out affection
for Her devotees.

The whole symbolic world is represented in the temple garden — the
Trinity of the Nature Mother (Kali), the Absolute (Siva), and Love
(Radhakanta), the Arch spanning heaven and earth. The terrific Goddess
of the Tantra, the soul-enthralling Flute-Player of the Bhagavata, and the
Self-absorbed Absolute of the Vedas live together, creating the greatest
synthesis of religions. All aspects of Reality are represented there. But of
this divine household, Kali is the pivot, the sovereign Mistress. She is
Prakriti, the Procreatrix, Nature, the Destroyer, the Creator. Nay, She is
something greater and deeper still for those who have eyes to see. She is the
Universal Mother, "my Mother" as Ramakrishna would say, the All-powerful,
who reveals Herself to Her children under different aspects and Divine
Incarnations, the Visible God, who leads the elect to the Invisible Reality;
and if it so pleases Her, She takes away the last trace of ego from created
beings and merges it in the consciousness of the Absolute, the undifferentiated
God. Through Her grace "the finite ego loses itself in the illimitable
Ego — Atman — Brahman". (Romain Holland, Prophets of the
New India, p. 11.)

Rani Rasmani spent a fortune for the construction of the temple garden
and another fortune for its dedication ceremony, which took place on May
31, 1855.

Sri Ramakrishna — henceforth we shall call Gadadhar by this familiar
name —1
came to the temple garden with his elder brother Ramkumar, who
was appointed priest of the Kali temple. Sri Ramakrishna did not at first
approve of Ramkumar's working for the sudra Rasmani. The example of
their orthodox father was still fresh in Sri Ramakrishna's mind. He objected
also to the eating of the cooked offerings of the temple, since, according to
orthodox Hindu custom, such food can be offered to the Deity only in the
house of a brahmin. But the holy atmosphere of the temple grounds, the
solitude of the surrounding wood, the loving care of his brother, the respect
shown him by Rani Rasmani and Mathur Babu, the living presence of the
Goddess Kali in the temple, and; above all, the proximity of the sacred
Ganges, which Sri Ramakrishna always held in the highest respect, gradually
overcame his disapproval, and he began to feel at home.

Within a very short time Sri Ramakrishna attracted the notice of Mathur
Babu, who was impressed by the young man's religious fervour and wanted
him to participate in the worship in the Kali temple. But Sri Ramakrishna
loved his freedom and was indifferent to any worldly career. The profession
of the priesthood in a temple founded by a rich woman did not appeal to
his mind. Further, he hesitated to take upon himself the responsibility for
the ornaments and jewelry of the temple. Mathur had to wait for a suitable
occasion.

At this time there came to Dakshineswar a youth of sixteen, destined to
play an important role in Sri Ramakrishna's life. Hriday, a distant
nephew2
of Sri Ramakrishna, hailed from Sihore, a village not far from Kamarpukur,
and had been his boyhood friend. Clever, exceptionally energetic, and endowed
with great presence of mind, he moved, as will be seen later, like
a shadow about his uncle and was always ready to help him, even at the
sacrifice of his personal comfort. He was destined to be a mute witness
of many of the spiritual experiences of Sri Ramakrishna and the caretaker
of his body during the stormy days of his spiritual practice. Hriday came to
Dakshineswar in search of a job, and Sri Ramakrishna was glad to see him.

Unable to resist the persuasion of Mathur Babu, Sri Ramakrishna at last
entered the temple service, on condition that Hriday should be asked to
assist him. His first duty was to dress and decorate the image of Kali.

One day the priest of the Radhakanta temple accidentally dropped the
image of Krishna on the floor, breaking one of its legs. The pundits advised
the Rani to install a new image, since the worship of an image with a broken
limb was against the scriptural injunctions. But the Rani was fond of the
image, and she asked Sri Ramakrishna's opinion. In an abstracted mood, he
said: "This solution is ridiculous. If a son-in-law of the Rani broke his leg,
would she discard him and put another in his place? Wouldn't she rather
arrange for his treatment? Why should she not do the same thing in this
case too? Let the image be repaired and worshipped as before." It was a
simple, straightforward solution and was accepted by the Rani. Sri Ramakrishna
himself mended the break. The priest was dismissed for his carelessness,
and at Mathur Babu's earnest request Sri Ramakrishna accepted the
office of priest in the Radhakanta temple.

^No definite information is available as to the origin of this name.
Most probably it was given by Mathur Babu, as Ramlal, Sri Ramakrishna's nephew,
has said, quoting the authority of his uncle himself.

^Hriday's mother was the daughter of Sri Ramakrishna's aunt (Khudiram's
sister). Such a degree of relationship is termed in Bengal that of
a "distant nephew".